NEW DELHI: Electronics may have seen maximum focus under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, but it is the humble food products that have created the most jobs, and with low levels of investment. In fact, sectors such as pharma and automobiles too have seen more investments but fewer jobs, according to govt data.According to data shared in Parliament on Tuesday, food products added nearly 3.3 lakh direct jobs, while investments were of the order of Rs 9,200 crore. The white goods sector saw investment of Rs 6,400 crore till March 2026 and added 52,700 direct jobs.
In contrast, the large scale electronics manufacturing sector focused on smartphones created 1.7 lakh jobs while it saw investments of Rs 20,580 crore. The pharmaceutical sector, which has seen multi-fold growth in recent years, added over 1.1 lakh jobs and received Rs 45,158 crore investment.However, sectors that require highly skilled workforce fared badly. The high efficiency solar PV module manufacturing received Rs 64,800 crore investment but it generated only 14,800 jobs.The specialty steel sector created a similar number of jobs at an investment of Rs 23,800 crore.
